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Bits of Freedom

We believe in an open and just society. One in which people can hold power accountable and effectively question the status quo. For two decades it has been our mission to shape internet policy in support of this vision. We do this through advocacy, campaigning and litigation, in the Netherlands and Brussels.

 

Our focus

The way in which our societies are digitizing comes with great risks. New technology is far too often used to limit people's freedom and their ability to shape their lives. We're surveilled by our governments. Big (tech) corporations abuse our vulnerabilities and manipulate our world view. The careless use of data leads to a codification, concealment and recurrence of discrimination.

Two fundamental rights play a key role in protecting us against these threats: freedom of communication and privacy. In addition, they are essential if we are to fully realize the emancipatory potential of the Internet. This is why Bits of Freedom fights to advance these rights.

Stay up to date on our work through our monthly update by our Executive Director:

E-mail address

How we work

It's our mission to influence legislation and policy. We focus on the advancement of two rights: freedom of communication and privacy. We research new legislation and new (applications of) technology. What is the impact on people? Do developments benefit our rights and freedoms? Or do they pose a threat? We translate these insights into policy advice, campaigns, awareness-raising and legal action.

Over the past twenty years, we have been effective because of our unique legal and technical expertise, and by creatively deploying a mix of research, advocacy, campaigning and legal action. We work in the Netherlands and in Europe. As one of the founding members of European Digital Rights (EDRi), we support EDRi's work in Brussels and contribute to the long-term strategy and resilience of our European digital rights network.

Who we are

We are a Dutch foundation ("stichting") with currently 11 staff members, hundreds of volunteers, a board and an advisory council. We are supported by thousands of individual donors, companies and private foundations. To ensure our independence, we do not accept money from governments.

Our team and board (in Dutch)

Our finances

We strive for a diverse and sustainable mix of income sources in order to operate as independently as possible. In 2021 41% of our core income came from individual donors, 11% from corporate donors, and 46% from foundations. 2% was miscellaneous. Our total budget in 2021 was € 1,018,509.

In order to safeguard our independence, we do not accept money from governments and no single corporate donor may donate more than 10% of our continuity reserve. If you wish to contribute to our work, consider becoming a donor or leaving a gift in your will. Contact Nico VoskampSend Nico an e-mail. for more information.

Bits of Freedom has been appointed a ANBI status, Public Benefit Organization (PBO), by the Tax and Customs administration of the Netherlands. This status has tax advantages for donors to our organization, see our Dutch website for more information or contact us directly. Bits of Freedom is also validated by the Charities and Aid Foundation.

We currently receive core funding from the following foundations:

  • Adessium Foundation - strives for a society where people live in harmony with each other and their environment.
  • Ford Foundation - commits itself to a just society.
  • Limelight Foundation - works for a strong and free information ecosystem.
  • Open Society Foundations (OSF) - work to build vibrant and inclusive democracies.
  • Stichting Internet Domeinregistratie Nederland (SIDN) - advocates a viable and carefree digital existence for all.
  • Democracy and Media Foundation - invests in independent critical media and a strong, ethical democratic state under the rule of law.

We receive project funding from Gieskes-Strijbis Foundation, Goeie Grutten and Reset. Funds that are interested in supporting our work can contact our director Evelyn AustinSend Evelyn an email.

A list of our current corporate donors can be found on our websiteThe list of companies that support us.. If you are considering becoming a corporate donor, please read our propositionOur proposition and get in touch with our Development & Partnerships coordinator Nico VoskampSend Nico an email.

Programs

We work within the following four overlapping programs.

Dossier

Freedom of communication

Our current online communication ecosystem, characterized by a few overly-dominant platforms and closely interwoven with the tracking-based advertising industry, frustrates civil society’s ability to hold power accountable and put forward new ideas and bold alternatives.

Dossier

Data justice

The careless use of data and algorithms can reinforce inequality and compromise legal certainty. Strong regulation and oversight can protect people against these harms.

Dossier

State surveillance

Government surveillance needs to be targeted, predictable and come with strong oversight and safeguards.

Dossier

Awareness and action

We work to strengthen people’s understanding of technology and civil society’s ability to respond to technological developments.

English blogposts

We irregularly translate our articles into English.The RSS feed for our English blogposts

The importance and future of our European work

We want to bring our years of experience in combining public communications and advocacy to Brussels. And structurally embed public interest technology capacity in our European network.

Monthly update on human rights & tech: February 2023

An unprecedented appearance by the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, innovating on quicksand and the cabinet vs. confidentiality online: a quick read through the most interesting developments at the intersection of human rights and technology from the Netherlands. This is the second in a series.

DOSSIER: Freedom of communication

Repression is really something different than prevention

In the Netherlands the mayor is responsible for maintaining public order. However, local rules do not provide the authority to preventively curtail the freedom of expression, and certainly not on digital platforms.

DOSSIER: Freedom of communication

The selective hearing of Ylva Johansson

How cool: commissioner Johansson came to receive the people’s choice award of the Big Brother Awards in person. However, it stings a bit, because she is very selective about when and with whom she enters into discussion.

DOSSIER: Freedom of communication

Who does the EU legislator listen to, if it ain’t the experts?

There’s a huge gap between the advice given by experts on child sexual abuse and the legislative proposal of the European Commission.

DOSSIER: Freedom of communication

European Commission must have greater ambition in combating sexual violence

Last year, the European Commission made a far-reaching proposal to protect children against sexual violence. But a study by Delft University shows that there is a lot wrong with the substantiation of the proposal.

DOSSIER: Geheime diensten

A power struggle rages for your data

Here’s what we think of the new rules on how the secret services should handle bulk data.

Monthly update on human rights & tech: January 2023

The secret services’ reign of confusion, rogue mayors and algorithm oversight (or not): a quick read through the most interesting developments at the intersection of human rights and technology from the Netherlands. This is the first in a series.

DOSSIER: GezichtsherkenningDOSSIER: Biometrische surveillance

A limited ban on biometric surveillance undermines its own potential

We spoke in the European Parliament about how a limited ban on biometric surveillance undermines its own protection.

DOSSIER: Jouw data

GDPR-compliance research within the ten largest municipalities

Bits of Freedom has done research on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)-compliance within the ten largest municipalities of the Netherlands. Unfortunately, most municipalities scored a failing grade, despite the fact that the GDPR has celebrated its fourth anniversary.

DOSSIER: Freedom of communication

Europol is going to collect a massive collection of porn of European youngsters

You do not help children and young people by making Europol compete with Pornhub.

DOSSIER: Versleuteling

Sex crimes unit already overwhelmed, and EU lawmakers will only make it worse

Dutch sex crimes investigators are already overloaded. The European Commission has plans that will only make this worse by generating a plethora of, often unjustified, reports.

DOSSIER: Platformen

8 new rules that will protect you from online platforms

At the start of 2024, the Digital Services Act (DSA) will come into effect. That means that there will be many new rules that will benefit users of platforms like Google, Instagram, and TikTok. We read the textRead the final text of the DSA here! –which has just been final–which has just been finalized– and list 8 rules that will soon protect your rights from online platforms.

DOSSIER: Freedom of communication

Google accuses you of child abuse? Impossible! Right?

When technology companies use computes to detect material of sexual abuse of children, mistakes will be made. As a result, innocent users are wrongly accused of child sexual abuse.

Don’t restrict encryption before alternatives have been explored, says advisory council

Dutch cabinet’s most important advisory body concerning cyber security: don’t restrict encryption before alternatives have been explored.

Press

Want to get updates whenever Bits of Freedom has internationally relevant news?

Subscribe to our English press list.

 

Or contact our press officer

Call us at +31 20 261 8350 and choose option 2 to be connected to our press officer.

 

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Our privacy policy

Bits of Freedom defends freedom and privacy on the internet and, accordingly, operates a clear privacy policy, which applies to all its activities, websites and mailing lists, and no additional terms and conditions.

Privacy Statement

Bits of Freedom has created this privacy statement to explain which (personal) data it collects and processes, and for which purposes.
(Version: 13-12-2019 / previous versions)

Website usage statistics (cookies)

We use the open-source analytics platform MatomoWhat is Matomo? (formerly Piwik) to keep track of website usage. We do this by placing two analytical (first-party) cookies:

  • _pk_id: generates a unique number to distinguish one visitor from another. This cookie is stored on your computer for 14 days after your last visit to the website.
  • _pk_ref: registers what site a visitor visits our website from. This cookie is stored on your computer for 30 minutes after your last visit to the website.

We have taken the following privacy enhancing measures:

  1. We mask the last five hextets of the IPv6 addresses and the last two octets of the IPv4 addresses we collect from visitors (for example:: 2001:db8:7bb:: or 198.51.0.0).
  2. We store the collected data on our own servers that we host ourselves and are located in the Netherlands.
  3. Visitor logs (containing the data listed below) are stored for 32 days.
  4. Our websites will never feature third-party cookies or other trackers.
  5. We not only respect but encourage the use of Do Not Track headers and cookie-blockers.

Through Matomo and the abovementioned analytical cookies, we collect the following data:

  • The unique number linked to the pk_id cookie (see above).
  • Your IP address (masked).
  • Pages you visit (titles and URLs) on our website and the date and time the page was visited.
  • The URL where you clicked a link that sent you to our site (Referrer URL).
  • Links you click on our website that refer to external websites (Outlink).
  • Downloads from our website.
  • An estimation of your location: country, region, city (we don’t collect your exact geolocation).
  • Other data: screen resolution, your local time, website speed, browser language.
  • Browser user agent: which browser you use, your operating system, your device (desktop computer, smartphone, etc.).

We process this data insofar this is necessary for our legitimate interest to analyse the use and functioning of our website(s). Due to the privacy enhancing measures we take, the impact on your privacy is limited and we not ask for your consent.

Donations

When we receive donations, we process the personal data that you as a sponsor provide for the purpose of handling the one-time or regular donations to Bits of Freedom, and (optionally) assigning your @freedom.nl address. In case you have signed up for regular donations, we process your bank account number, name and email address, the donation amount, the starting date and the frequency. If you have indicated you would like us to send Bits of Freedom merchandise to you, we will process your address data for this purpose. We do not store your data any longer than is necessary to process the donation, (optionally) assign the @freedom.nl address, (optionally) send out the merchandise and meet the administrative requirements under Dutch law.

Regular donations / sponsorships

Regular donations / sponsorships are processed through (SEPA) direct debits. We allow our bank, Triodos Bank, to collect the amount of the donation. To this aim, we supply Triodos Bank with exactly the data it needs to collect the sums due.

One-time donations

Single donations are processed using Mollie’s payment module. Mollie needs to process personal data when handling the donations in this payment module. In this context, Mollie’s privacy policyMollie's Privacy Policy applies and Mollie acts as the controller. We recommend reading Mollie’s privacy policy before using their payment module.

Donations made in bitcoin
Any donations made in bitcoin are processed by Bitonic. Bitonic needs to process data when handling the donations in this payment module. In this context, Bitonic’s privacy policyBitonic's Privacy Policy applies and Bitonic acts as the controller. Bitonic, and most likely other third parties as well, will be able to link your donation with Bits of Freedom relatively easily. Due to the design and workings of bitcoin, your donation probably won’t be entirely anonymous.

Transferring the money yourself

You can also make a bank transfer directly to our account. If you choose to donate this way, the personal data necessary to transfer the money will be processed by your bank and ours (Triodos BankTriodos Bank).

The webshop

When you buy our merchandise through the webshop, we will set some cookies to keep track of your shopping cart. These can be the following:

  • woocommerce_cart_hash and woocommerce_items_in_cart: used to remember what is in your cart and whether something is added to it or removed. These cookies are stored on your computer for the duration of the session (so they will be removed when you restart the browser).
  • wp_woocommerce_session_: this has a code that allow us to connect your visit to stored cart in the database. This cookie is stored on your computer for two days after your last visit to the website.

You don't need an account to order with us (you have to fill in your details for each and every order). For each order we store the following information for a period of six weeks:

  • Your first and last name en your company name if you added one
  • The full shipping address
  • Your email address
  • Any notes that you have typed with your order
  • The products in your order, what you paid for them, and whether you used a discount code

We store the details of pending and failed orders for one week, and if you cancel you order, we will delete the information within a day.

Payment for order in the webshop are processed using Mollie’s payment module. Mollie needs to process personal data to do this. In this context, Mollie’s privacy policyMollie's Privacy Policy applies and Mollie acts as the controller. We recommend reading Mollie’s privacy policy before using their payment module.

Free email address (without tracking or advertising)

Sponsors donating €10 per month or more, if they are interested, are entitled to their own email address which if free of tracking or advertising. This service is provided by Soverin and comes with its own set of terms and conditions as well as a privacy statementSoverin's terms and privacy statement.

My Data Done Right

The following paragraphs apply only when you visit and use the tool My Data Done Right:

Your contact details

The contact details you provide when using My Data Done Right are temporarily stored in your browser on your device for the duration of generating your request(s). We don't store your contact details on our servers. If you choose to be reminded about your request by email and you provide your email address, then we store the following information on our servers in the Netherlands:

  • your email address;
  • the type of request you generated (e.g. access request);
  • the organisation you sent the request to; and
  • the date your request was generated.

We use this information to send you a reminder about your request by email. This information will be deleted after the last reminder mail has been sent.

Feedback form
When you fill in our feedback form we will not ask for any personal data (e.g. your contact details or name). The only data we collect is:

  • your answers to the questions (e.g. ‘Did you receive a response?’ Yes/No);
  • the type of request you generated (e.g. access request); and
  • the organisation you sent the request to.

We will aggregate this data and use the aggregated data to assess whether organisations respond properly to people’s requests and meet their legal obligations.

Mailing lists

No-one will be added to any of our mailing lists without us first obtaining their confirmation to finalize their subscription. Each email we send out to our subscribers contains a link through which it is possible to unsubscribe without further intervention. Bits of Freedom itself manages and updates its mailing lists and ensures the security of related software is kept up to date.

Responses to blogposts

Whenever readers post a response underneath one of the blogs on our website, it is stored along with the poster’s IP address and, if supplied, their email address and name. IP addresses are only stored to prevent spam. Only the WordPress users at Bits of Freedom (the permanent staff and a carefully selected set of volunteers) can view these IP addresses. This data is only stored as long as the response in question stays up on the website.

Forms, website visits, emails and customer relations management

If you fill out a (contact) form on our website or send us an email (@bof.nl), the related personal data will be stored and processed for as long as is necessary, depending on the purpose of the form or the contents of your email, for it to be answered or processed properly. In addition, we may store emails we receive if this is necessary for us to properly carry out our regular activities.

If you join a poll posted on our website, your IP address is only logged to prevent multiple votes from being cast from a single IP address. The IP addresses stored in this way are always deleted permanently as soon as the poll is closed.

When you visit our website(s), our servers have to process your IP address to show you the requested page. We do not store your IP address in a log file.

If, in the context of our work, you voluntarily give us your contact details with the aim of enabling us to reach you this way for instance by giving us your business card or by volunteering for Bits of Freedom we may store this data if this is necessary for us to properly carry out our regular activities, which include customer relations management.

For the purpose of managing the contact information of our contacts and partners, we use the open source system CiviCRMWhat is CiviCRM?. We only operate the software ourselves and run it on our own servers. Our contacts’ mail addresses and PGP keyrings may also be stored locally in the personal address books of Bits of Freedom employees. Of course, if requested, we can remove your contact information from our systems entirely.

Other activities

For all other activities organized by Bits of Freedom, such as the Big Brother Awards or other actions requiring the engagement of interested parties, Bits of Freedom collects as little personal data as possible. If Bits or Freedom collaborates with other organizations in campaigns, for example in a European context, it will insist on a clear privacy policy.

Disclosure to third parties

We will never pass on your personal data to third parties, with the exception of the cases explicitly mentioned in the contents of our privacy statement. The only two exceptions to the rule are:

  • If we have explicitly asked for your permission in advance, prior to passing on your personal data to third parties;
  • If we are legally required to do so, and only after we have tried our very best to prevent having to pass on your data on the basis of a legal obligation.

Your rights

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) you have, among other things, the right to access the personal data we collect about you and in some cases the right to amend it or have it deleted. In certain cases you can ask us to stop processing your data or request us to provide your data to you in a machine-readable format.

You can exercise your rights by sending an email or letter to us with your request; use the contact details listed below. To comply with your request, we might ask you to provide information to verify your identity.

You can find more information about your rights on https://gdprexplained.eu and (probably) on the website of your local data protection authority. You can file a complaint with your data protection authority if you feel we have abused your personal data.

Changes to this privacy policy

We might make changes to this privacy policy. If we change something important, we’ll announce that on our website. The previous versionsPrevious privacy policies of our privacy policy are archived and viewable online.

Our contact details

When processing personal data as described in this privacy statement, Stichting Bits of Freedom (Bof) acts as the controller, unless expressly stated otherwise. Have you just finished reading our entire privacy policy? Then you’re entitled to a free Bits of Freedom webcam cover! Send us an email at info@bitsoffreedom.nl with “Privacy statement, can I have a webcam cover” in the subject line. You will then receive a discount code to order the cover (for free) in our webshop.

Do you have any questions about this privacy policy or do you want to exercise one of your rights under the GDPR? Get in touch! By mail: Bits of Freedom, Prinseneiland 97hs, 1013LN Amsterdam. By e-mail: info[at]bof.nl. By phone: +31 20 261 8350.

No terms and conditions

Yes, that's right: no general conditions. We could write a long piece about the legal terms that you agree with when visiting our website. And that Dutch law applies to your visit to our website. But we do not believe you can agree to our terms, just by visiting our website. This requires more, for example, clicking on an 'I accept' button before visiting our site. But we do not want to ask this of you.

Nevertheless, some organisations we work with appreciate it if we summarize all information about Bits of Freedom in one place. Therefore, we have listed the most important information about Bits of Freedom here. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@bitsoffreedom.nlMail info@bitsoffreedom.nl.

The Bits of Freedom Foundation (Bof) is located at Prinseneiland 97hs, 1013 LN Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Bits of Freedom is registered in the trade register of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under number 34121286. The VAT number is: NL808804169B01.

You can donate to Bits of Freedom by transferring money to Bits of Freedom's bank account: IBAN NL73TRIO0391107380. Donations online, via iDeal, PayPal and credit card, are processed by Mollie. You can also authorize Bits of Freedom to periodically withdraw a certain amount from your bank account and you can revoke that authorization at any time. You only need to send an email to info@bitsoffreedom.nlMail info@bitsoffreedom.nl. You only need to provide us with your name, address and account number, and we appreciate it if you would like to indicate why you want to terminate the authorization (but this is not required). Bits of Freedom has been designated a Public Benefit Organisation More about tax advantages aavailable to a Public Benefit Organisation by the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration.

We are great advocates of sharing knowledge and freedom of expression. We therefore offer the opportunity to respond to blogposts on our site. Please, read the internal rules for our blogThe internal rules for our blog.

Bits of Freedom strives for the information on its website to be correct. If you find an error, please let us know. You can reach us at info@bitsoffreedom.nlMail info@bitsoffreedom.nl.

The texts and the design of this website are published under an Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) Creative Commons LicenseAll you want to know about this Creative Commons license. If you want to use our brand or our corporate identity, or if you want to use the texts on our website under conditions other than those of the applicable Creative Commons license, please contact us at info@bitsoffreedom.nlMail info@bitsoffreedom.nl.